political fundraising

in a previous post i noted my objection to the decision in citizen united v. FEC that essentially determined that corporations have free speech rights akin to individuals and therefore could not be stifled in their political contributions.

in recent weeks, president obama and other prominent democrats have been complaining about the chamber of commerce's political advertising and making accusations that our political system is being influenced by shadowy figures and possibly foreign entities. of course, this is without any proof whatsoever. the chamber of commerce denies using foreign money. factcheck.org can't find any wrongdoing. in fact, when obamas senior advisor david axelrod was asked for evidence of the chamber of commerce using secret foreign money the best response he could provide was "well, can you show me evidence that it's not?" so now the focus has moved to the chamber revealing their list of donors. however, being a tax exempt organization the president knows that the chamber is under no legal obligation to do so.

it is interesting that there is a demand for donor lists. in 2008, obama made a pledge to use public campaign financing but then quickly backtracked on that pledge when he saw how much more money could be raised via private funding. with this private funding came a closer inspection of the source of these funds. go here to see a thorough list of articles that illustrate the pledge and possible foreign sourced funds being given to the obama campaign.

opensecrets.org has an excellent breakdown of where all the campaign cash is coming from this campaign season.
here's a snapshot:
** 53% of all business contributions go to democrats
** 53% of all ideological contributions go to democrats
** 93% of all labor contributions go to democrats

considering the majority of campaign contributions are being steered towards the democratic party, the white house complaints about the chamber of commerce just seem like sour grapes that the chamber doesn't agree with the administrations policies. or is it really a realization and fear that the chamber's anti-administration message has become more resonant with the public?

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health care reform and mid-term elections

i saw this on politico recently and found it interesting. apparently the democrats are circulating a memo detailing how to talk to voters this fall about the passing of health care reform. most of the slides are fairly standard -- keep it simple, give personal stories, and say thats its not a perfect law but that its a good start.

the interesting part is the final bullet point of the final slide. listed under things not to do:

















but didnt the president among others say it WILL reduce the deficit?


so why should politicians stay away from mentioning it during the midterm elections? makes you wonder where the truth lies.

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do as i say not as i do

the president from yesterdays high school graduation commencement in michigan:

In remarks to be delivered Monday evening at Kalamazoo Central High School, Obama says it's easy to blame others when problems arise. "We see it every day out in Washington, with folks calling each other names and making all sorts of accusations on TV," the president said.

the president on the economy:

By any measure my administration has inherited a fiscal disaster.

"After they drove the car into the ditch, made it as difficult as possible for us to pull it back, now they want the keys back," said Obama, who also pointed to the 1.3-trillion-deficit he said he inherited from his predecessor, George W. Bush.

the president on terrorists and foreign wars:

He described his role as "clean[ing] up the mess" left by Bush.

the president on why massachusetts elected a republican to fill ted kennedys former senate seat:

"The same thing that swept Scott Brown into office swept me into office," Obama said. "People are angry, and they're frustrated. Not just because of what's happened in the last year or two years, but what's happened over the last eight years."

the president on the BP oil spill:

For too long, for a decade or more, there has been a cozy relationship between the oil companies and the federal agency that permits them to drill.

the white house strategy for the midterm elections:

Two years later the president is tentatively unveiling the strategy he and fellow Democrats will pursue in this fall’s election season, and it has a heavy dose of ... looking backward. It’s going to be as much about history as hope, and more about attacking Republicans than promoting his own vision.

actions speak louder than words mr president.